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Certain Mamak stalls, such as this example in Kuala Lumpur, may remain open 24 hours a day.

The Malaysian Mamak are Tamil Muslims of Malaysian nationality, whose forefathers mostly migrated from South India to the Malay Peninsula and various locations in Southeast Asia centuries ago. They are regarded as part of the Malaysian Indian community. Indian Muslims are believed to have first arrived at Samudera (now Aceh in Sumatra, Indonesia) in the early 10th century.[citation needed] Archaeological findings in Bujang Valley, Kedah, Malaysia suggest a trade relationship with India as early as the 1st to 5th century C.E.[1][2] An inscription dated 779 AD that refers to the trade relationship between the Tamil country and Malaya has been found in Ligor, Malay Peninsula.[3]

The word 'Mamak' is from the Tamil term for maternal uncle, or 'maa-ma'. In Singapore and Malaysia, it is used by children as an honorific to respectfully address adults such as shopkeepers. The silent K in 'Mamak' likely came about as a hypercorrection; since terminal Ks are not pronounced in Malay, a Malay who heard the Tamil word may have assumed there was a silent K at the end.[citation needed] Although the origins of the word are benign, it is sometimes used as a derogatory term[citation needed] for the Indian Muslim community in Malaysia.[by whom?]

Mamak stalls and Hindu stalls are alike except the Mamaks, who are Muslims, do not serve pork but serve beef, whereas Hindus serve neither beef nor pork. There are also similar stalls run by local Malays, also not to be confused with the Mamak.

Malaysian Mamak restaurants may also include hanging televisions and misting fan systems.

Mamak stalls' affordable food and unpretentious atmosphere tend to create a casual dining atmosphere. Newer mamak stalls have more of a cafe aspect, usually being well lit and furnished with stainless steel tables. Some are outfitted with large flat screen televisions, or even projectors, so that patrons can catch the latest programs or live matches as they dine. Some mamak stalls also provide free Wi-Fi service. Despite these innovations, many modern mamak stalls attempt to retain their predecessors' open air dining atmosphere by setting up tables on a patio, the shoplot's walkway, or even on the street.

A mamak stall usually offers different varieties of roti canai to eat and teh tarik, coffee, Milo, and soft drinks to drink. Most mamak stalls also serve several varieties of rice, such as nasi lemak and nasi goreng, as well as noodle dishes such as mee goreng (fried noodles). Some stalls also offer satay and Western dishes.

A typical Mamak stall will offer the following dishes, though this differs from stall to stall:

Recently, in order to attract more customers, some Mamak restaurants have added an extra stall in their restaurant. The stall, which is operated individually by either an ethnic Malay from the North East Peninsular Malaysia or an ethnic Malay from Southern Thailand, is known as Malay tom yam stall. This provides customers with more food options, such as:

Tom yam stalls first appeared in Peninsular Malaysia circa late 1970s and early 1980s. Unlike local Malay food, the food is basically Thai based and somewhat similar to the cuisine in the state of Kelantan. The tom yam dishes have a mix of typically sweet, hot, and sour flavours. As the dishes are cooked immediately upon the customer's order, tom yam stalls are the Malay equivalent of fast food outlets albeit with Thai based cuisine.

Tom yam stalls can also be found by the street or at designated areas such as car parks at night. These stalls tend to be popular. Many tom yam stalls are built illegally, usually on land reserved for public roads. Attempts to remove these illegal stalls have been fairly successful[citation needed] but such attempts can have a political price. One local politician who was a town councillor was put to shame when illegal traders whose stalls were demolished made known to the public that the politician's son himself was running a nearby stall built illegally on public road reserve land. His stall had been spared while others were demolished.[citation needed]